Fred, a Successful Stockbroker, Gives a Lecture About Investing

question 54

Essay

Fred, a successful stockbroker, gives a lecture about investing. Some of the persons who attend the lecture form Gain & Profit, an investment club, and ask Fred to advise them. Gain & Profit allows Fred to set up an account for the club with a brokerage firm and gives Fred control of the account, but does not authorize Fred to withdraw funds for his own bene?fit. Fred uses the money in the Gain & Profit account to repay per?sonal loans. Charged with embezzlement, Fred defends his actions on the ground that he intended to repay the club. Is Fred guilty of embezzle?ment? Why or why not?

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Definitions:

Unique Ways

Innovative or distinctive methods or approaches to doing something.

Availability Bias

A cognitive bias that influences people to overestimate the importance of information available to them, impacting decision-making.

Similarity To Other Situations

The degree to which a current scenario or issue replicates the aspects or conditions of a different situation previously encountered.

Confirmation Error

A cognitive bias involving the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.